"Guh." Khana made an eloquent greeting as she came down the stairs of the inn.

"Morning." I greeted in turn.

"Shhh." She took a seat next to me, head held in her hand. "Not so loud, little man."

There was another similarity between Khana and I, as evident from last night. We both used alcohol to deal with our issues. It was rare that I got a hangover, like that night in Faubrey. Khana, I assumed, was much more prone to them.

That wasn't a judgement at all. Aside from being much more destructive, I'd probably be doing the same thing as her if that had happened to me. That would be more likely if something reminded me of that.

The rest of our parties filtered down to eat and get on with our day. We made small talk, just going over our plans for the day. Like Trusi alluded to, Khana made no mention of last night, outside of her pounding headache.

"Hey, Khana?" My words caused the rest of her party—minus Martin—to snap to attention.

"What's up, little man?" She asked after guzzling down a mug of water.

I could see it in her party's eyes. They didn't want me to say anything. Well, there was something that needed said.

"You're a true hero, and anyone would be lucky to be half as great as you."

A few breaths were let out at my non-mentioning of last night.

"Oh." Khana just looked at me for a moment. Then, her mouth shifted into a grin. "You trying to get into my pants here?"

"Is it working?" I asked, smirking.

"It might later." Khana shrugged, grabbing her again-filled mug. "Check back with me when Hailey takes a break."

She really was something else. To go through that in two different lives and to not only be unafraid of sex but still enjoy it, well, it was inspiring. I'd go so far as to say I've never been more inspired in my life.

With breakfast concluded, we exited the inn. Khana and Mauler went through a similar song and dance as yesterday, and then the three of us teleported out.

After that, it was again more of the same. Hailey ran at a reasonable pace to not tire herself out. I fired off my spell to increase my proficiency with it. Khana…well, she didn't have as much to do. She could have cast spells as well, but the Claw power up method retroactively improved them. Since I had a single spell to my name, she let me take the lead.

Of course, a little less than an hour into our ride, we came across a monster we needed to dismount to fight. Nothing crazy like a huge dragon, but still something that Hailey couldn't just stomp to death.

A final slam on the monster's head from Khana's hammer finished it off.

"Alright." I switched forms on my axe. "Hailey, take a little rest."

"Gweh!" She chirped. A few monsters from my drops and she was happily feasting.

I approached the monster, ready to carve it up and absorb. It wasn't going to give me anything, since it was a dragon. Yeah, I know what I said, but it wasn't a dragon dragon. It was another hybrid, like near that town, and one I'd already gotten a weapon form from.

One swift chop cut off its neck from its body. A few more and we'd be able to split it evenly enough for Job Level materials.

"Hey, little man?" Khana spoke, absorbing a piece.

"What's up?" I asked, taking another strike.

"I said something yesterday, didn't I?"

The question made me pause in mid-swing. I lowered my axe to the ground as I looked at her.

"You remember?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No, but…I know what I talk about when I get that drunk."

It seemed she was aware of her tendency. "Did you…want to talk about it?"

She gave me a glance. "That depends. How much did I say?"

So, I told her, the few details she shared. What happened to her in her first life. What happened in this one.

"I see." She murmured.

"We really don't need to talk about it." I said as I finished absorbing my share. "Your, uh, party mentioned you don't like to."

"They wouldn't understand." Khana walked over to a tree and leaned her back against it.

"I don't think I would either." I said, standing in front of her.

"Don't you?" She looked down at me. There was something in her eyes. A hint of understanding.

I couldn't help it. A small smile grew on my face at the absurdity of it. "You psychic or something?"

She shrugged. "Just good at reading people."

"Not that good."

Then again, I felt like we were in a similar boat here. We were both good at reading people, almost to an unnatural level. I could pick out lies like two opposing colors. Khana could read people's inner feelings like an empath straight out of Star Trek. And we both sucked at politics.

Still, that she somehow deduced I had issues with one of my parents…I really had no words. Khana was really amazing.

"I don't suppose you want to talk about it?" Khana gestured to Hailey, who was now sitting, bits of blood around her beak. "I don't want to pry, but…"

"No, it's fine." I waved her off, taking a seat on the ground myself. We had a bit of time, and it wasn't a story that I was afraid to tell.

Khana slid down the tree, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her knees.

"I suppose I should give you a little background. My mom died when I was 17." I began. "Eddy's mom, too. They were having dinner and were walking home when it happened. Some gang members in the city we lived in. Robbery, probably. Or they witnessed something they shouldn't have. We don't actually know."

"The people responsible were never found?" Khana guessed.

"No, they were." I smiled back at her. "The police were paid off, but Eddy…heh." I couldn't help but laugh at the memory. "Eddy was something else. He knew people. He arranged for me to be trained with firearms. After months of training, he was able to figure out exactly who did it. And, well…"

"Sounds like another story there." Khana said with a nod.

"They say you never forget your first kill. I sure haven't. But, yeah, a story for another time. Same with afterward, where we slowly took out the rest of the gang. Then Eddy did what he learned he was good at, and took over their territory, with me by his side."

My hand found its way on the back of my neck. "And soon after my 18th birthday, it happened."

~The Right Man~

I walked into my home. I took off my shoes and set them next to the pair already there. It was like that a lot during the day, ever since mom was killed.

"Dad, I'm home." I called out. He didn't respond, which was also the norm.

Ever since that day, Dad…well, he didn't take it well, to say the least. I couldn't count the times I walked in and found him passed out on the couch, or his chair, or on the ground. There was always a bottle of whisky next to him, empty.

The TV was on when I walked into the living room, the news playing on it. I looked over and saw my dad on the couch, awake, but almost vacant. It was a slight improvement.

There wasn't really anything I could do to help him, and I did try. Going to AA meetings didn't help, the few he actually went to and not the nearby bar. We couldn't reach out to his or Mom's side of the family for help, either. Dad burned those bridges pretty thoroughly.

I wasn't there to hear what he said, but it was enough for them to go no-contact. My aunt, his sister, told me little about the fight. I wasn't all that surprised I hadn't heard from her, or any of them, since then. I was always pretty weird, and my reaction to my mom's death didn't help any. Sure, I was sad, but I couldn't say I grieved properly. Eddy and I 'grieved' in our own way, though no one knew that aside from his fiancé, Gloria. Combined with whatever my dad said to them…

"Dad?" I tried to get his attention again.

The empty whisky bottle next to him told me he'd been drinking. Thankfully, I knew we didn't have much left—at the moment—and unless he went out to get more and hid the other bottles, he didn't drink that much. More than a slight improvement.

He lazily looked up at me. "Sid down." His words weren't quite slurred.

I did as he said, sitting next to him. This was the most I got out of him in months that didn't involve him asking for more alcohol. It wasn't like I could get any for him, only having recently turned 18.

We sat in silence for about a minute, the news continuing to play. I didn't pay much attention to it, since I already knew what it was about.

Just as I was about to ask him how he was, he pointed up at the TV.

"Did you do it?"

I felt my heart nearly jump into my throat. It was an expected reaction to such an unexpected question, though I tried to keep my face neutral. After all, I did.

The news was about someone who was killed last night. A shop owner that was in the area Eddy started to take over. The last gang there worked a protection racket, and Eddy decided to continue the operation. He was able to grab a few people to work under him, and made it seem like our group was bigger than it was. The shop owner refused to pay and threatened to go to the police. So…

"Do what, Dad?" I asked, trying to keep up the act.

I didn't feel all that bad about killing the man. Sure, it was a protection racket, but it doubled as a shakedown for him at least. The guy was dirty, selling fake IDs on the side. Not death worthy, but morally grey. Nothing to feel all that guilty about, at least to me.

"Did you kill him? The one on the news?" He continued.

"What are you talking about?" There was no way he could possibly know.

"I know that's what you've been doing." He said. "You've been going out, acting like a gang-banger."

"Dad, you're drunk." I knew that was a lie. Buzzed, sure, but not drunk. Still, it would work as a distraction.

"That's why you're never home at night." Dad kept going. "Dealing drugs, killing people, just like the people who killed your mother."

"Why don't you go lay down?" I said, standing from the couch and putting a hand on his shoulder.

Dad just slapped it away, jumping up and yelling in my face. "Why'd you do it!?"

"I didn't do anything, Dad." I calmly told him, motioning him back with my hands.

We went back and forth a few more times. He kept accusing me of killing that man, selling drugs, threatening people, and just generally being a mobster. He was right, of course, but there was no way I'd admit it to him. I just couldn't imagine how he'd figure it out on his own, especially with him being drunk all the time.

"It's that Edmundo friend of yours." Dad finally said. "He got you into this, didn't he?"

"Don't talk bad about Eddy." I demanded, stepping closer to him.

The next moment, the world was spinning. I hadn't notice him grab the whisky bottle, and I didn't react in time when he broke it across my head. He threw me to the floor, quickly climbing on top of me. Then, his hands were around my throat.

"Dad—" My voice cut out as I tried to yell, his hands gripping me tightly.

"How could you do this? How?! Why?!" He yelled, his face getting closer to mine.

I tried to pull his hands off, but I couldn't. Even now, after doing what I did for a while, and him in his early 40s, Dad was still stronger than me.

"Everything your mother and I did to make sure you'd have a good life, and you throw it all away!? Just to follow that Cuban piece of shit!? I won't let this be what remains of her! I have to stop you now!"

I couldn't breathe. My vision began to blur. If I didn't do something, I was going to die.

Then, just as that thought crossed my mind, it all stopped. I could breathe more easily. My sight returned, right before it was obscured again by something wet.

My knife was in the side of his neck. He fell on top of me in a panic, trying to hold the wound shut. I didn't let go of the knife. It wouldn't matter now. The knife twisted when he fell over, opening the wound more. And I was more than familiar with where my knife was. It cut deep into his artery.

I lay there as he kept trying to stop the bleeding, the seconds passing painfully slow. Eventually, his movements slowed, then stopped. I didn't move. I couldn't. I knew what I'd just done.

After what may have been a few seconds or a few minutes, I pushed his body off of me. With his blood still on my hands, I continued to lay there, taking in slow, uneven breaths.

Finally, I collected myself to really process what I'd just done. I sat up and looked to my side, seeing my dad lay there, bleeding out onto the carpet. A thousand thoughts ran through my head. In the end, I went with the most pragmatic response I could.

I pulled out my phone and dialed. The voice on the other end answered. "Dante? What's up?"

I took in a deep breath before I responded. "Eddy…I need you…"

~The Right Man~

"Good god, little man." By the end of my story, Khana was leaning forward.

"Yeah." I nodded. "That as one of the worst days of my life."

"What happened next?" Khana asked.

I leaned back with my hands resting behind me. "Eddy came, looked over everything, and figured out what to do." I shrugged lightly. "We set a fire, made it look like an electrical thing. Eddy was able to plan it so we wouldn't get caught, though I still don't get how."

He really could make the impossible possible. Sure, I could do that sort of thing now, but back then I only really knew the killing part of things, not so much the cleanup.

"It kind of sucks we had to go about it that way." I added. "That was my grandparents' home before they gave it to my parents. It would have been mine someday, assuming I married."

That was a stipulation my dad gave me, same as his dad. I think he said that to encourage me to start looking for someone. He knew I wasn't exactly normal, but, well, that didn't really matter now.

"Damn…" Khana scratched her chin. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm kind of envious of you."

"Why's that?" I asked her.

"You had parents that cared about you." She said, shrugging. "Up until that point, at least. I only sort of knew what that was like through Martin's parents."

Well, I just learned something about Khana. She was good at holding in her emotions, even if she didn't seem like she was. I didn't pick up on her discomfort or jealousy or anything when I talked about my family. Well, that was the best sex I ever had, so I could be forgiven for not noticing when I first brought it up. Even now, her expression was surprisingly even.

"They adopt you?" That would explain her and Martin being childhood friends a bit.

Khana shook her head. "No, but Martin really looked up to me when we were younger. I ate meals with them a lot, and I gave them some of my pay from my adventurer work. They were poor farmers, so I sort of thought they wanted a better life for their son. Not that I'm badmouthing them or anything!" She quickly added that last part.

"Hey, I get it. I see the world we're in." One with nobility and royalty and all that stuff. Upward mobility wouldn't be that big here, except for successful merchants and adventurers.

"Anyway, I wish I had at least one set of good parents I was born to." Khana finished her thought.

"Hm." I debated whether or not to say what I was thinking, but went ahead with it. "In a way, I'm a little envious of you, too."

That got me a raised eyebrow in response. "Oh?" I could almost feel the heat from her gaze.

"Ahh, I don't know." I probably shouldn't have opened my mouth, but it was too late now. "I'm not saying—at all—that you were lucky your dad did that to you. It's just…you knew he was an evil bastard, no question. I killed my dad in self-defense, and I didn't need to."

That was one of my biggest regrets. I didn't react in time to prevent getting into that position, and then I relied on instinct and training to save me. Maybe I could have convinced him he was wrong, but…maybe this was the only way I'd stay out of jail.

"Hm." Her look softened slightly. "I guess so…"

"Gweh!" Hailey looked ready to start up again.

"Tell you what." I said as I stood. "Seeing as how you're a proper hero—and I'm not—I was wondering if you wanted to give me a few names. Maybe a couple who live where you used to." I nodded to her. "Maybe they take a long dirt nap."

Khana gave a soft smile. "I appreciate the offer to murder my parents, little man, but they're already dead. Took care of them before I became a hero. Guess we have that in common, too. Ah!" She quickly covered her mouth.

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow at her. Yeah, that was a pretty insensitive thing to say, but I wasn't exactly winning any awards for kindness and tact myself right now.

"I guess so." I said, showing I didn't take any offense. "I meant what I said just now, and in town. You're a true hero. You took the pain you went through and did good with it. I didn't. You're much more of a hero than me, more than I could ever hope be. I know that's not saying much, but…"

My pain wasn't even all that great. Eddy, though, he was devastated. His dad was already out of the picture, and his mom was all he had left. When he said he wanted revenge, I didn't question it. It's the same reason I worked with him when he wanted to take over. He was my best friend, one of only two friends I had back then. If only he said the word, I'd help him take over the whole world.

"Heh." Khana let out a laugh, shaking her head. "No, I guess it's not, but I appreciate it anyway."

~The Right Man~

We continued on after that. In true Khana fashion, she joked how she got the short end of the stick when it came to gods. She really was something else.

My emotional responses to things when I was younger were pretty low. Even if they weren't, I didn't think I'd be able to bounce back from what she went through. She was stronger than anyone I'd ever met. Khana really did inspire me to want to be a better person.

But, well, living a new life wasn't what I was here for.

When we returned for the night, I got to work. Shieldfreeden's capital was a big place. If I had to guess, it was even bigger than Faubrey's capital, if the surrounding farmland was included. Of course, farmland wasn't where I needed to go.

Nelshen gave me plenty of information. The name of my target and his description, the location of his home, and his most important assets in the city, to name a few. He was also something of a cautious man, never going out without a small band of guards, and almost never at night. With an important vote coming up, that wasn't likely to change.

Given that, it was unlikely I'd be able to face him outside of his home. I could kill him and his guards, no problem. Being a hero gave me a lot of power. But I couldn't do it without attracting too much attention—really, any amount of attention. I was still going to be doing things in Shieldfreeden, so I couldn't openly kill a prominent noble, especially with an easily identifiable weapon. So, that left me with one real choice.

Tonight, I scouted out his home. It was, of course, located in the noble quarters of the city. His…mansion? Villa? I never learned the difference, and Nelshen just called it his 'residence'. Regardless, his home was easy enough to find with directions.

The home was surrounded by a stone wall. Nothing crazy, like what you'd find around a castle or fort. It was flat, carved stone, about 10 feet tall, and just wide enough to walk on if you were careful, aside from the sloped tiles. They went over the edge of the wall, so you'd have a hard time climbing them. Luckily, I didn't have that issue.

One of my early weapon forms, the Rope Axe, came in handy here. When I peaked through the main gate at a distance, I saw the overhang was on both sides. So, I threw the Rope Axe over the top, with plenty of slack and the end of the rope still in my hand. The Axe itself acted like a grappling hook. From there, it was easy enough to pull it taut and climb up.

With little lighting, my dark clothing, and the surprisingly dark color of the tiles, I was able to get on the wall without issue. There were only four guards outside for the entire property—plus the two outside the gate—and the property was large. I slipped down and started to case the lot, plenty of trees, bushes, and other garden fixtures to hide behind.

There were four entrances to the building. The front and back had double doors while the sides had single doors. The bottom of the house had just about everything you'd expect: kitchen, larder, dining room, parlor, foyer, just to name a few. Attached to one of the sides was a porch with a little gazebo of sorts.

Based on my observations, the stairs to the second floor were most likely near the center, near the front entrance. The second floor itself was also mostly dark, outside of the hallway. If I had to guess, that was the guards' quarters, probably other servants as well. A few rooms for guests, too. The top was reserved for the family.

How did I know this? One, the top had a light in one of the rooms. Two, the third floor wasn't nearly as big as the rest of the building. And three, I saw the lord's wife standing on the balcony up there.

And therein lied the most troubling part of this job. The lord had a wife and two kids. The daughter was 12 and the son 10. Sneaking around wouldn't be a problem. I'd done that plenty in my world, even in places I'd only seen the outside of. The problem was the person who slept next to the target, and the kids a room or two over.

In my world, the solution would be simple. I'd just take a rifle, find a nice, cozy spot, and wait for hours until everything lined up perfectly. Sure, I still had prep work: learning my target's pattern, finding a spot, planning my exit, etc. The point was I didn't always need to do things up close and personal.

Here, I could only use my axe as a weapon. Maybe I'd get lucky and get an opening to fire off my spell, but it was still Faust level and I didn't think it would be enough to kill the noble in one hit. Sure, poison was an option, but not feasible here. I'd risk killing the kids. That was a line I…didn't want to cross again.

Yeah, I know that girl from the Wave wasn't really a young girl. It still made me mad to think about what I had to do.

Anyway, long-range wasn't an option. I had to get close to him. That balcony was a little out of my range, given the angle and how improving the Rope Axe didn't increase my strength worth a damn. Just about every other weapon form would make a loud noise, so transferring the equip effect wasn't feasible either. The walls didn't give me too much to work with for climbing up there, but I could get to the second floor.

With all my observations, I had a few options, all of which being done at night.

First, the smart way. Go in the second floor, sneak around, and kill the lord when he went to the privy. That left a bit up to chance, since it assumed he would go out while I was there. An additional option would be to kill him in his sleep, but that risked waking his wife. I'd be covered, of course, but leaving his body would show the axe wound, and I couldn't absorb it without revealing my hero status. No body would look like an abduction, assuming no witnesses.

Second, the patient way. If there was a time he was out before I would "turn in for the night", I could lie in wait inside his home. I'd kill him while he was away from his family, absorb his body, and escape. This one wasn't likely, and had more variables.

Third, the flashy way. I'd set a fire and cause the entire household to evacuate. It wouldn't be the first time I'd done something like that. That would bring a lot of attention, and I couldn't be sure I'd get an opportunity to kill the lord. The same issue with leaving a body applied.

Fourth, the loud way. Go in and kill damn near everyone. Frankly, it was the worst option. I could probably do it, but that wasn't the issue. Dozens dead, either showing axe wounds or missing entirely, unless I burned the bodies.

Sure, seeing axe wounds wouldn't immediately point to the recently summoned Axe Hero, but I was sure Khana would figure it out. Like I said, she did inspire me. The least I could do—since I clearly wasn't going to change my ways—was to keep her completely in the dark. Nelshen said Khana couldn't know about this, so there was also that.

Well, I still had time to plan.

Author's Notes:

Setting up for the next conflict.

Dante killing his dad was mentioned in The Wrong Hero, and now expanded on here. I imagine killing a parent, regardless of reason, would leave a scar on most people.

The next chapter I work on will probably be Forging Legends, so give that a look.